Secret to Getting Out of Costco for Under $100!

October 10, 2012 - 31 Comments

 { Extreme Coupon Education }

 

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I used to call Costco the $100 store. I could not seem to get out of Costco with out spending at least $100! You probably did not learn this secret on reality television. We are here to reveal the secrets of Extreme Couponing. TLC’s Extreme Couponing is really not about education it is more about entertainment. Our goal is to educate you and empower you to save money for your family. I first talked about Costco and coupons a few years ago, but a few things have changed since.

costco coupons

Before I started to coupon the fabuless way you could say I had an addiction to shopping at Costco. I live near a Costco so I would go 1-2 times every week, and I could not get out of the store with out spending $100!

Old way of couponing- The only form of couponing I knew was to use the coupons in the Costco coupon booklet. Buying in bulk was saving me money, but I had no idea how much more money I could be saving.

Know your price points- When I started doing more research about price points I was finding that if I am  patient and wait for a deal I can get a better price with coupons! So I started buying more things with coupons at other stores.

When I started couponing I had to still shop at Costco sometimes because I was still in stockpile building mode. I would stop by Costco to get the items that I had not found on sale with coupons.  As I got my stockpile built with some good basics I was shopping at Costco less and less.  When I walk through the store now it makes me sick to see how much I used to pay for things I now pay pennies for.

We often get this question in our inbox:

Do you use the Costco coupons?
The answer is rarely. I find that almost every time I can get an item for less if I wait for a sale and use my coupons from the newspaper or printable coupons. Or buy the item on amazon.

Can Costco coupons be used anywhere else?
No they can only be used at Costco!

Items I used to buy at Costco, but can now get for less shopping the fabuless way:

Chicken Now I stock up on this and freeze it when I can get it for $1.88/lb or less for boneless skinless
Carnation Instant Breakfast
Prego Sauce
Bagels
Hamburger I stock up and freeze why I can buy from Zaycon
Oatmeal
Bread
Cheese I buy cheese for $2/lb or less and buy several. These can be frozen. They have a long shelf life in the fridge as well as long as you do not open them.
Toilet Paper Find great deal on amazon here. 
Diapers & Wipes Great diaper deals on amazon
Fruit Snacks
Sour Cream
Juice
Granola Bars
Vitamins
Shaving Cream
Produce I buy the produce that is on sale usually at Fred Meyer or WinCo
Paper Towels
Kleenex
Shampoo I like to get FREE  shampoo
Body Wash
Razors will not pay more than $1 for razors
Tampons
Toothpaste I only buy free toothpaste
Toothbrushes
Floss
Laundry Soap
Dish Soap
Cereal do not pay more than $1.00 a box!
Dish Detergent
Yogurt

Download the price point list. 

After getting the hang of couponing I found that I did not need to shop at Costco much at all. Instead of spending $5,000 a year at Costco I was spending more like $500 a year at Costco. So here is the next big question we get…..

Is it worth it to keep your Costco Membership?

buy clothes at costco

Yes. To me it is. Why?
I can still get some great deals on some staple foods and I don’t pay much if anything for the membership. I pay for our membership with cash back from our executive membership and our American Express Card.

Electronics: Costco has great prices for electronics and a 90 day return policy no matter what!

The Return Policy: Costco will let you return almost anything for any reason, even dead trees! haha. (you know you have seen it)

Clothing: It is hard to beat Costco’s price for name brand jeans!

Gifts: We love to shop Costco at Christmas time, we alway find some great gifts there! Although since I discovered Amazon for Christmas shopping, I do most of my shopping from home online.

Gas Prices: Costco has the lowest price in town for gas! Yes, I can get if for less at Albertsons some of the time with my preferred card gas rewards, but not every time.

Prescriptions: Costco usually has the lowest price for prescriptions! Don’t believe me? Check out the Costco Drug Price Checker! Type in any prescription you usually buy and I bet it will be less. They even give you the price for the generic alternative! (You do not have to be a member for this benefit.)

So how do I get out of Costco spending under $100?

I can easily get out of Costco now spending less than $50!  I only buy the staple items that I have not been able to get for good deals with coupons. Now that I have learned my price points I know which items are worth buying at Costco.

  • bread
  • eggs
  • produce
  • milk (If I am out for milk coupons)
  • gas
  • take and bake pizza
  • croissants (My weakness)

PS One rule I often follow is to only buy what I can carry!

So I want to know.

Is it still worth it for you to shop at Costco?

 

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Avoid Leaving the Store Without The Deal! { Extreme Coupon Education }

September 26, 2012 - 3 Comments

 

You do not have to leave the store disappointing and with out a deal when couponing. Even with crazy extreme couponers clearing the shelves there are ways to avoid missing out on the deal. Because they don’t tell you everything on reality television we are here to reveal the secrets of Extreme Couponing. TLC’s Extreme Couponing is really not about education it is more about entertainment. Our goal is to educate you and empower you to save money for your family.

Has this ever happened to you? You find a great deal! Giddy with excitement you take time to print coupons, organize coupons, drive to your local store and find the place where the item SHOULD be in your store. Only to be heart broken by empty shelves. Someone TOOK ALL OF THE PRODUCT! Well maybe? But maybe 20 someones got there before you and each took 2-3. Empty shelves can be common when lots of great deals are circulating through the stores you shop. You do not have to leave the store without the deal. I first addressed this in my post Fabuless Coupon Tip Tuesday: How to Avoid Leaving the Store without the Deal. I thought it was about time we revisited these ideas.

Shelf clearing is not cool, we do not even think it is cool to clear a shelf in the name of charity. I have seen many cleared shelves in my couponing days. Remember the crazy diaper lady? Even after 4 years of many cleared shelves I still find it worth my time to coupon if I remember to use these strategies…

Eight Ways to Avoid Leaving the Store Empty Handed

Place an order of the items you really want or need a lot of. You can do this with your manager or at customer service. It can be done on the phone or in person. Here are some details on how to place an order.

Get a rain check(s) for the item(s) out of stock. You can not get a rain check for a catalina, but you can get a rain check on most store coupons and store sale prices.

Choose another store! Some stores are overloaded with coupon shoppers and are always going to get cleaned out. Some stores are within a demographic that has many coupon shoppers. Shop in the area of town that does not have lot’s of couponers. It is always worth a few extra miles for a hassle free shopping trip.

Don’t wait until the last day of the sale to shop, your store is likely to be out of the items you need!

Learn your stores ordering schedule. Then shop on the days you know they will be stocked. Many stores receive shipments 3 times a week and it is always the same three days. Keep in mind the time of day the shipments come in too. So you don’t show up a few hours before it arrives.

Don’t be afraid to ask if they have items in the back. Many times the store has just not had time to re-stock. If you ask a grocery manager they may be able to get you more product from the back.

Call right before you leave to see if your top 3 items are in stock. That will help you decide if it is worth a trip to the store. Try your three closest stores and choose the one that is stocked the best.

Be a team player- Be a part of the solution not the problem. Never clear a shelf. Avoid taking more product than you can reasonably use before it expires.

Feel free to add in the comments any tips you have to make the shopping trip worth while!

I hope these tip help YOU! I hope everyone will remember to be considerate of other shoppers when making your coupon shopping trips! It is up to us (you and me) to give couponers a good name.

Learn the 7 Secrets of Successful Couponing

in our 90-minute DVD!

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Extreme Coupon Education: Don’t Miss Out Get A Rain Check

June 20, 2012 - 4 Comments

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Because they don’t tell you everything on reality television we are here to reveal the secrets of Extreme Couponing. TLC’s Extreme Couponing is really not about education it is more about entertainment. Our goal is to educate you and empower you to save money for your family.

One of the most disapponiting things when couponing is to find a cleared shelf, or just that your store has not ordered enough to sustain the sale. Don’t forget that most stores offer a rain check! With a rain check you can come back later the next week and get the sale price on the item when it is back in stock.  So do not feel like you missed out because you can still get the deal. Sometimes the deal can even get better with a rain check if a better coupon comes out or a new catalina is available.

Rain check policies for some of your favorite stores:

  • Abertsons rain checks are good for 30 days, and they won’t give you one on “Coupon required” sales (like get $.39 Tillamook yogurt with in store coupon)
  • Walgreens rain checks expire in 30 days, but they will not give you a rain check that includes the RR part of it.  Most limit it to 4 items.
  • Rite Aid does include the Ups+ on their rain checks (they write them right on the rain check)
  • Target rain checks are good for 30 days, but they won’t do them on most advertised prices, they’ll usually offer an immediate “other option” instead.
  • CVS offers rain checks on non-seasonal/non regularly stocked items.  There is no expiration date on the rain check (but you must buy the entire quantity you requested when you got the rain check if they are in stock), you can’t split it up into multiple transactions.
  • Walmart Does not offer rain checks because they do not have many advertised sales.
  • Fred Meyer rain checks are even good on store coupons.
What information do you have about your local stores rain checks. We can add it to the list! 

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